So the Travelling Teabox is away – or it will be Monday morning at any rate – on its way to Pete in Nova Scotia. The Canada Post people said it would take about 7-8 business days to get there (give or take). :)

The TTB has landed! Thru the great white north, escaping the floods, winds, and yes even snow…how amazing it is to finally open the TTB! The competing aromas are making their way to my nostrels and KA PO@W! Sensory overload!…I need a couple days to take this in…11 months ago I agreed to participate not knowing what to expect…I will lay them out on the dining rm table and enjoy…what to drink first?

Well…I have had enough time to glance over and pick thru the TTB, Now it is time to move on…after 8 long months I really did not want to let it go…alas, we must depart tomorrow for lands beyond the sea…thank you everyone who has participated and contributed to the TTB…I enjoyed this…I have place some nice surprises for the next person…enjoy…

Canada Post can be horribly slow if you send something as a regular parcel – which was all most of us have money for right now. *shrugs * I had a tracking number so I was keeping an eye on it the whole time.

Steepster:
I just visited your “Best Teas” page and found it interesting how few unadulterated or unblended, full leaf teas are listed therein. It appears 95% of the list is an herb, flower or seed mixed with tea or ?. If the Steepster world thinks this is tea, there is much to be discovered as yet. Keep tasting…Blindman

Aaah, Blindman, I fervently agree. Interesting, you say. To that, I might add “sad.” So many tea lovers are missing so much! Once I experienced the magic of knowing about and tasting these wonderful unsullied leaves, blends lost a lot of their appeal. Yet I think that this journey is only for the few.

Having a certain amount of background information about the tea and its provenance adds greatly to the experience of preparing and tasting it. The majority of tea drinkers don’t have the desire, the money (and just as importantly, the time) to pursue the esoteric beauty and delight which I find in the study of tea. Younger women, take note. When you are an old crone like me, free from the labor and drama of career, reproduction, etc, there is finally time to satisfy the soul in new and wonderful ways.

The adventure which is pure tea takes me (in my mind) to the mountain, the village, the province, the pickers, the teamaster, the one who keeps the fire going under the wok. This discovery means that when I sip my tea, I am more fully connected with the land, the laborers and the artists whose hands and hearts gave their all to bring me this treasure. In ten or twenty years, much of this small-farm (or old-growth) handmade leaf will no longer be available. The world market and the movement of young people to cities will bring huge changes in China, Sri Lanka, India etc, just as has occurred with the farming process in our country. The best teas have just recently started to be available to grassroots folks, via the internet, because they don’t live near any of the few U.S. shops which import the real thing. This is the time, tea lovers, to experience high-quality, small-batch leaf, made with processes handed down in families and villages over a millennium of practice-makes-perfect.

Norbu Tea is a direct importer, and does business in my own state of Texas. The proprietor, Gregory Glancy, lists tea by year and harvest season. The provenance is given, just as with fine wine. Tea is often available in small quantities which were vacuum-packed at the origin and which are sold in the vacuum pack. Freshness is key with green, white, yellow, and light oolong teas. Many of their best qualities abound in the first few months, but fade rapidly, so buy small quantity and drink quickly (unless it’s in vacuum pack). Black, dark oolong, and pu-erh teas, on the other hand, often profit from some months of mellowing.

I still like blends which use only freshly dried herbs and essential oils. The reason that really great flavored teas are expensive is that essential oils and high-quality botanical extracts are expensive. I have a hard time with tea which has cheap extracts on it. My nose and palate have grown more sensitive, and frankly, it stinks.

That’s all good and well, but could you possibly please make its own thread for the discussion on the board? It’s not a discussion that has anything to do with the journey of the Travelling Teabox at all and having it here in the middle of the TTB thread might end up being rather confusing.

Disregarding the fact that recently there has been suspicions of companies/people gaming the “top teas” page (which we’re looking into), we’re open to all types of tea drinkers here…so if the majority of people on the site like the flavored herbals then they will probably be the highest.

But as someone who still has tons to learn about tea, I’d love to see you on the site spreading your love of unadulterated or unblended teas :). We always encourage people to share their passion (in a friendly and constructive way) so that others can grow and evolve their tastes.

…and yes, this would be more appropriate as it’s own thread. Feel free to switch it over so others can find it faster and join in.

We’ve run into a snag. I’m flying 1500 miles to see my family for a couple of weeks. If Pete sends the TTB now, I’ll be gone when it gets here. So, he is going to wait until I get back home on January 5th, to send the box to me. I am most grateful to Chana and Angrboda for their patience in waiting a few extra weeks for their upcoming turns.

Hi all! I checked with the apartment office today, and they have no ttb’s hidden away anywhere. Perhaps Customs folks got a notion to have teatime … But no, I’m sure it’ll be here any day now. I thank you, Pete, for checking up, and for giving our ttb such care!

Hooray! It’s here! Nicely packaged and insured! I’m not going to open it until I’ve finished the laundry, which any avid tea lover may well understand. I’ll get some photos and post them on the Flickr stream for this TTB. Thank you, Pete and all, for your patience. And may I add, whoopeee! =D

P.S. I checked the package tracking, and it took 5 days to get from New York USA to me in Texas USA. Of course, that’s 1500 miles, so if it went by truck, which I suppose it did, that’s not too bad. And Pete spent a pretty penny on postage. I think that all-air service would have required a mortgage or one’s firstborn … so, again, Thank You, Pete!

No kidding … those endearing Canadians have some kickass tea shops! I must admit, though, to being a bit befuddled by the sheer wealth of tea types in the TTB. When I’m not slurping down something new, I’m beginning to visualize sending the box on it’s way again. I will go to post ofc and pick up a medium flat-rate Priority Mail International box, and bring it home. Then I’ll compare what will fit in there vs what can be sent using a plain box sent by weight, rather than volume.

The Yixing tea pot which Pete added to the box is beautiful, and I’ve used it to brew up a dark oolong and a shu puerh, so far. I love it, and I don’t know if I can bear to part with it, but am thinking I may feel guilty if I keep it for myself and my local tea group.

For a long time, I’ve been saving up samples to add to the box … things which I hope will spark interest and please folks the most. And which are nice and fresh, as well … always something to consider. And I can’t help peeking at Chana’s and Angrboda’s notes, cupboards, and Shopping Lists, too, here on Steepster, for help in “tea triage.” If I have anything which is on their shopping lists, i’ll be sure to include some of it, but there are some rare birds, indeed, on those lists, and so far, I don’t see much in the way of matching things exactly. However, maybe i can come close … :)

This weekend I’ll try to stop sniffing and slurping long enough to get some photos and post them. My plan is to mail out the TTB on Feb 4th or thereabouts.

Uh oh…..if you’re peeking, unfortunately I am way behind on listing my stash…only a fraction of what’s in my cupboard is listed here. OTOH, the shopping list is current (although I probably would add a lot more if I had the time :D)
Note to self: get more organised….

The TTB is still here with me, and here’s an update. I’ve been waiting 3 weeks for a shipment from Shanghai, China. I looked for a Chinese bamboo tea table for a year, the kind with a water-catching tray with drain hose, and finally found the perfect one on eBay from seller batzmaru. It’s the item called “Xiang Fu Green Bamboo Tea Serving Tray Table.” The store is called Pot in Pot. I also ordered the Tanyang Gongfu AAA black tea from the same source. Also awaiting orders from Shang and Norbu. All these orders have teas which I want to share with the TTB. It’s so nice to have the traveling tea box as an excuse to order a few things I’ve been wanting, and anyway, my 66th birthday is coming up in a couple weeks. I hope everyone can be patient a little bit longer, so I can get these orders, keep some for myself, and send some along with the TTB. My hands aren’t as nimble as they once were in handling these things, so I’m slow. I’m getting the Clear Jade Orchid, Pao Blossom, & Golden Needle King from Shang, and a myriad of stuff from Norbu, including more of the Fall 2010 TGY, so I can ungrasp my sticky fingers from some of it to send along. It’s just the most fun to imagine other tea lovers sharing some good tea with me! I’m going to send some ‘backwards’ along the ttb route to Pete, who put such nice things into the box himself. The things I’ve most considered removing, due to weight considerations, are green teas, which are most likely to be stale because of age. I’ve been tasting a green each day to try to determine which are most worth the postage. And I have a couple of sweet greens here which I know are fresh and definitely will be included. But these things require good packaging and clear labeling, so please bear with me, so I can do my very best job. Plus, I must admit that all this fussing over the box is a much more absorbing diversion than my usual activities! So hang in there; I’m (still) on it! :)

Would someone please teach me how to put bold and italics into these posts?

Um….international postage for packages is reasonable up to 2 kilos, then gets way expensive. When it gets to me, I am willing to “take one for the team” and get it down to the reasonable weight, but is that fair?? My cupboard and my tastebuds will be happy, but will my conscience? :-]

Unless the weight is down when it gets to me…then I have no problem taking goodies out and replacing them with more goodies…. I just don’t like to take out a lot more than I can put in.

Great picture!…some of my babies that I parted with…I am so glad that I was able to share some teas that I have acquired fm some very loving tea shops here in the Maritimes(Halifax)…we have two great tea shops -Sawadee & World Tea house…@Pamela…glad you enjoyed the tpot…the puerh was tasty wasn’t it? I order directly fm China myself…I must admit that I put in quite abit but, I had to make choices and I was so excited to share some of my loves…love is only viable if it is shared!!!